Eliminator plate assembly for air washers



June 26, 1956 w, w. AVERA ET AL 2,752,005

ELIMINATOR PLATE. ASSEMBLY FOR AIR WASHERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. '7, 1954 INVENTORS ATTORNEKS June 26, 1956 w. AVERA EIAL 2,752,005

ELIMINATOR PLATE ASSEMBLY FOR AIR WASHERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. '7, 1954 LIA/E BY J J a 3 & ATTORNEYS United States Patent ELHVHNATOR PLATE ASSEMBLY FOR AIR WASHERS William W. Avera and Marcellus G. Saunders, Winston- Salem, N. C., assignors to The Bahnson Company, Winston-Salem, N. C., a corporation of North Carolina Application October 7, 1954, Serial No. 460,836

4 Claims. (Cl. 183-113) This invention relates to air washers, humidifiers and similar apparatus by which air or other gas is caused to make contact with water or other liquid for washing or otherwise treating or conditioning the air or other gas by contact with the liquid. A well known type of apparatus of this kind for washing and altering the humidity of air comprises a casing through which a current of air passes and in which the air is brought into intimate contact with water which may be discharged in a fine spray into the casing, and an eliminator or separator consisting of spaced plates of zig-zag or other suitable configuration arranged and spaced to form tortuous passages or channels through which the moisture laden air passes so that any free particles of liquid entrained with the air will be removed by reason of their contact with the surfaces of the eliminator plates as the air changes direction in passing through the channels.

These eliminators usually consist of a large number of relatively large, closely spaced metallic plates so that if the eliminator is manufactured as an integral unit, i. e. with the eliminator plates permanently secured in position, it is most difiicult to properly clean and otherwise maintain them in good operating condition. Moreover, with such a construction, it is also most difficult to remove any of the plates for repairs or to renew old plates.

The primary object of the present invention is therefore to provide an improved construction for eliminators in which the metallic plates are detachably held in place in the apparatus thus enabling one to readily remove any or all of the plates for cleaning or replacement.

. Another object of the invention is to provide an improved eliminator structure wherein the several plates are mounted pivotally along one edge thereof as the leaves of a book on a common support thus making it possible to spread the plates apart by rotation on their pivots without removal to provide adequate working space therebetween for easier cleaning.

Still another object is to provide a novel pivotal mounting for galvanized eliminator plates, the mounting including an attachment member in the form of a combined clip and trunnion. The clip is secured to the plate without the need for penetrating the protective galvanized coating on the plate and is therefore considered superior to other modes of attachment such as welding which destroys the anti-corrosive coating in the vicinity of the welds, or drilling holes through the plate for receiving attaching bolts or rivets, which also exposes the base metal from which the plates are made.

The foregoing as well as other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the eliminator plate assembly in the air casing with the top wall of the latter removed;

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial elevation showing the clamping structure for the front ends of the eliminator plates;

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2 showing the manner in which the trunnion-clip members are attached to the plate; and

Figs. 5 and 6 are views, drawn to a somewhat larger scale, of the upper and lower trunnion-clip members.

With reference now to the drawings, the casing of the apparatus is seen to be of rectangular cross-section including a top wall 1, side walls 2, 3 and a bottom wall 4. The lower portion of the casing serves as a receiving tank or reservoir for the water or other liquid with which the air or other gas is treated.

The eliminator for removing or separating the free particles of water or liquid from the air or other gas consists of an assembly of upright, parallel zig-zag plates 5 arranged relatively close together and separated by tortuous passages for the air or other gas. These plates, made of sheet steel, are preferably galvanized to resist the corrosive effects of the water. In accordance with usual practice, the eliminator is so located in the casing that the air or other gas, after passing through the liquid spray from spray nozzles (not illustrated), or being otherwise brought into contact with the liquid, passes through the tortuous passages between the eliminator plates 5 for separating the free liquid entrained in the air or gas.

in accordance with the present invention, the eliminator plates are mounted individually in the casing by pivotal securing means which permit the closely spaced plates to be spread apart as the leaves of a book for easier clean ing of the plates and also permit the plates to be removed individually without disturbing the other plates for purposes of repair or replacement. To this end, it will be seen that the support for the plates 5 includes a pair of angle bars 6, 7 which extend horizontally across the easing between side walls 2, 3 and are secured to the latter. The angle bars 6, 7 are vertically aligned and are provided respectively throughout their length with holes 611, 7a in vertical registration for receiving the pivotal mounting means which, in the present embodiment, are constituted by trunnions attached to the individual plates at opposite ends of the rear edge of the plate.

With reference now to Figs. 2 and 4, it will be seen that the rear edge of each plate 5 is turned back upon itself at 5a to form a channel for attachment of an upper trunnion member 8 and a lower trunnion member 9 preferably made from stainless steel. As is clear from Figs. 5 and 6 these trunnion members 8 and 9 are similar, the only difference between the two being that the trunnion portion 8a of the upper trunnion is made somewhat longer than the corresponding portion 9a of the lower trunnion 9 to permit removal and installation of the plates without disturbing either of the angle bars 6, 7. In addition to the trunnion portions 8a, 9a which are received in holes 6a, 7a in the angle bars, each of the trunnion members includes fixed jaw portions Sly-8c and 912-90. The spacing between jaw portions 8b-8c and and 911- is generally about equal and preferably such that the jaws establish a snug, frictional fit with the plate. The jaws constitute a clip type of fastener, it being noted that jaw portions 8b and 91) fit down into the channel 5a while the jaw portions 80, 9c lie outside of and behind the rear edge of the plate thus clamping the plate between the aws.

As seen in Figs. 5 and 6, the trunnion members 8 and 9 preferably are stamped from a blank of stainless steel which are then folded so as to establish, in cross-section, a substantially U-shaped configuration. The plates 5 with their trunnion members attached are each mounted on the angle bars 6, 7 by first inserting the trunnion portion 8a through its corresponding hole 6a in the top angle bar 6 and then raising the plate until the lower end of trunnion portion 9a clears the top face of the lower angle bar 7 and can be dropped into its corresponding hole 7a. The plate then drops until a shoulder on the trunnion comes to rest on and is supported in part by the lower angle bar 7. For this method of installation it is evident that the distanceflA between the clip portion 8b of the upper trunnion member 8 and the lower face of anglebar 6 must exceed the distance B between the clip portion 917 and the lower end of trunnion portion 9a of the lower trunnion 9.

After all of the plates have been mounted in the manner described, a spacer bar assembly 10, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, is used to tie all of the front edges of the plates in the same spaced parallel relation as are the rear edges of the plates. This spacer bar assembly comprises a plurality of bar sections 11' extending horizontally across the washer casing and provided with spaced slots 11a for receiving hooks 5b formed at the front edges of the plates 5. The spacer bar sections 11 are anchored at intervals to the plates by means of J bolts 12, the hook portions 12a of these bolts engaging the hook portions 5b of the plates and the shank portions of these bolts being passed through holes in the spacer bar sections 11 and secured thereto by wing nuts 120. Only the end spacer bar sections 11 have been shown in Fig. 1 and these are moreover spaced from the sides 2, 3 of the casing by means of rods 13 adjustably mounted in guides 13a secured to the outer end portions of the end spacer bar sections. The intermediate spacer bar sections, as shown in Fig. 3, are arranged generally in line but with a slight vertical spacing to permit their adjoining ends to overlap. When it is desired to clean the eliminator plate assembly, it is only necessary to remove the spacer bars from the front ends of the plates 5 thereby enabling the plates to be spread apart on their rear pivotal supporting structure.

To prevent air from by-passing the eliminator assembly, a vertical blank or plate member 14 is located between each of the side walls 2, 3 of the casing and the corresponding side of the plate assembly, and a similar blank or plate member 15 is located horizontally in the casing between the side walls and rests upon the top edges of the eliminator plates 5. No blanking structure is necessary at the lower edges of the eliminator plate assembly since the water level in the casing is maintained practically at the lower edges of the eliminator plates.

In conclusion it will be evident that we have provided an improved construction for supporting eliminator plates which makes it possible to remove or install the plates individually or to spread them apart for easier cleaning. Moreover, while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated, it will be evident that minor changes in the construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without however departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim: 5

1. For use in an air washer and similar apparatus, a plurality of eliminator plates and means for supporting said plates in closely spaced relation to form tortuous air passages therebetween, said supporting means comprising pivotal means individual to each plate and secured thereto, means detachably receiving said pivotal means, each said plate being swingable individually about its pivotal support to enable said plates to be spread apart for cleaning, and spacer means extending across said plates along one edge thereof and removably secured to said plates for maintaining said plates in closely spaced relation.

2. For use in an air washer and similarapparatus, a plurality of eliminator plates and means for supporting said plates in closely spaced relation to form tortuous air passages therebetween, said supporting means comprising trunnion means individual to each plate and attached thereto at one edge thereof, means detachably receiving said trunnion means, each said plate being swingable individually about its pivotal support to enable said plates to be spread apart for cleaning, a spacer bar extending across said plates at the edges opposite said trunnion means and provided with slots receiving the edges of said plates, and means detachably securing said spacer bar to said plates.

3. For use in an air washer and similar apparatus, a plurality of eliminator plates and means for supporting said plates in closely spaced relation to form tortuous air passages therebetween, said supporting means comprising trunnion means individual to each plate and attached thereto at one edge thereof, means detachably receiving said trunnion means, said trunnion means comprising a trunnion portion and a clip portion attached to said plate, each said plate being swingable individually about its pivotal support to enable said plates to be spread apart for cleaning, and spacer means extending across said plates along one edge thereof and removably secured to said plates for maintaining said plates in closely spaced relation.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 wherein the clip portion of said trunnion means comprises spaced jaws embracing said plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Dec. 11, 1933 

